Murder charges filed in fatal Atlantic City carjacking

Bloomberg NewsThe gateway into the Trump Taj Mahal Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City, pictured in March 2007.

ATLANTIC CITY — Authorities filed murder charges and other charges today against three Camden men accused of carjacking two people in the parking lot of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort and shooting both, killing one.

Phillip Byrd and Eric Darden, both 20, and Raheem Simmons, 18, are being sought in the weekend shooting death of 28-year-old Sunil Rattu of Old Bridge, and the wounding of his friend, 24-year-old Radha Ghetia of Sayreville, who is recovering in a hospital, Atlantic County Prosecutor Theodore Housel said.

Housel said the trio stalked potential victims at Bally’s and ACH, a casino formerly known as the Atlantic City Hilton, before attacking the Middlesex County pair at the Taj Mahal. The suspects accosted the two in the Taj Mahal garage, robbed them at gunpoint, then carjacked them, driving the victims’ car to an alley not far from the casino where both were shot.

Rattu died from two gunshot wounds to the head. Ghetia suffered a gunshot wound that passed through her upper body and exited through her back.

The prosecutor said an employee at Bally’s Atlantic City reported seeing the three suspects acting suspiciously in a parking lot near the casino around 5 a.m. Sunday. The suspects approached the employee, who was not identified, causing the employee to drive away quickly.

Tom Haydon/The Star-LedgerAnil Rattu, right, comforts his sister, Toshi Simak. Their brother, Sunil Rattu, was attacked by carjackers and killed after leaving an Atlantic City casino early Sunday.

Also Sunday, ACH’s security cameras captured the trio walking down an escalator, looking around in all directions at 5:28 a.m. No one was confronted at that casino, Housel said.

Authorities are still looking for a gray Saturn Ion the suspects were seen driving. The vehicle was reported stolen from Haddonfield in August.

"If you know where these people are hiding, contact your local police department," Housel said at a news conference. "They are considered armed and highly dangerous."

The fatal carjacking was the second such incident at the Taj Mahal in little over a year. In May 2010, Martin Caballero, 47, of North Bergen, was carjacked from the Taj Mahal garage and later found stabbed to death. An Atlantic County couple is awaiting trial in that case, charged with murder and other offenses.

Housel said the fact that both fatal carjackings began at the Taj Mahal is "mere happenstance" that could have occurred anywhere.